Local woman charged with felony theft

August 9, 2014

FAIRMONT - A 37-year-old Fairmont woman is charged with felony theft after allegedly taking more than $500 worth of merchandise from SuperAmerica.

According to information from the Fairmont Police Department:

On Monday morning, police received a call from the SuperAmerica store in the 2200 block of North State Street. Management reported a woman believed to be Callie Marie Norlen had been loitering in the store since 3:30 a.m., and finally made a purchase around 5:30 a.m.

Staff noticed that after she made her purchase, she went back into the store area and picked up a few more items and left. The manager noticed Norlen was concealing something in a newspaper she purchased and she stopped Norlen as she left the store.

The manager revealed six auxiliary cords wrapped in the newspaper, and Norlen claimed she forgot about them and offered to pay. However, when the manager went to go inside the store with Norlen, Norlen instead went to her vehicle and left.

Norlen was located at the Fairmont Walmart by police and placed under arrest. Inside Norlen's vehicle, police saw items reported by SuperAmerica as stolen by Norlen.

Inside the trunk were several items with SuperAmerica stickers on them that were hidden under a sweatshirt. Norlen claimed she had purchased those a few days before, but didn't save any receipts.

SuperAmerica also reported finding opened packaging in the store after Norlen left, and the packaging matched items found in Norlen's vehicle.

During a police interview, Norlen admitted she was stopped by SuperAmerica staff for having unpaid items with her, but she claimed it was not intentional. She later admitted she had stolen a cell phone charger and hid it in her purse.

The total amount of items stolen from SuperAmerica was $570.

Police also learned Norlen had warrants for her arrest in Jackson and Faribault counties for insufficient checks and check forgery.

Norlen also has previous convictions for check forgery and theft.

The current theft charge against Norlen carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.